TOWN centres in Dovercourt and Manningtree are bucking the national trend with just a handful of empty shops.

Just 2.5 per cent of outlets in Manningtree town centre and 4.4 per cent of shops in Dovercourt are vacant.

The figures are well below the national average of 12.3 per cent.

Mark Morsley, chairman of Manningtree Association of Commerce, Culture and Community, welcomed the news.

“The statistics are fantastic and credit must go to a lot of people,” he said.

“There seems to be quite a lot of unique new shops opening up and the people who have been here a long while are doing fine.

“Whenever there is a small problem the people who look after the town, like the police and the town council, make real efforts to sort it out quickly.”

Harwich and Dovercourt Town Partnership chairman Lesley Pollard added: “People have the idea that there are lots of empty shops in DovercourtHigh Street, but that is a bit of amisconception.

“Since the figures were recorded another shop has opened, which is good news.

“Hopefully, we can continue to buck the trend.”

The figures also make Manningtree and Dovercourt the leaders in Tendring, where 4.6 per cent of shops are empty in Brightlingsea, 4.7 per cent in Clacton, 4.8 per cent in Frinton and ten per cent in Walton.